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ARBOR DA Y MANUAL. 



"A SOUL IN GRASS AND FLOWERS." 



AND what is so rare as a day in June ? 

 Then, if ever, come perfect days; 

 Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune, 

 And over it softly her warm ear lays : 



Whether we look, or whether we listen, 

 We hear life murmur, or see it glisten ; 

 Every clod feels a stir of might, 



And instinct within it that reaches and towers, 

 And grasping blindly above it for light, 



Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers; 



The flush of life may well be seen 



Thrilling back over hills and valleys; 



The cowslip startles in meadows green, 



The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice, 



And there's never a leaf or a blade too mean 

 To be some happy creature's palace ; 



Now the heart is so full that a drop overfills it, 



We are happy now because God so wills it ; 



No matter how barren the past may have been, 



'Tis enough for us now that the leaves are green ; 



We sit in the warm shade and feel right well 



How the sap creeps up and the blossoms swell ; 



We may shut our eyes but we cannot help knowing 



That skies are clear and grass is growing ; 



The breeze comes whispering in our ear, 



That dandelions are blossoming near, 



That maize has sprouted, that streams are flowing, 



That the river is bluer than the sky, 



That the robin is plastering his house hard by ; 



And if the breeze kept the good news back, 



For other couriers we should not lack. 



****** 



Joy comes, grief goes, we know not how ; 

 Every thing is happy now, 



Every thing is upward striving ; 

 Tis as easy now for the heart to be true 

 As for grass to be green, or skies to be blue, 



Tis the natural way of living. 

 * # * * * * 



LOWELL'S Vision of Sir Launfal. 



